Entire Sädhanä
(spiritual undertaking) of an aspirant can be presented in Nav Tattva. First fortunate thing is that we are born ashuman being.
Second fortunate thing will be if we are exposed to the right religion. Third
fortunate thing will be if we get an opportunity to listen to the discourses on
the right religion. Fourth and the most fortunate thing will be if we practice
the right religion.

People who have understood the Jainism correctly, reflect
it in their conduct, behavior, thinking and day to day activities. The strength
of Jainism is that you listen to it once, and it will cause the positive
change. Once we adopt Jainism, we will see a positive transformation in our
lifestyle. If we have faith in Jainism, it must be mirrored in the lifestyle.
Jainism is not about changing the world, it is about
changing our own selves. The objective of Nav
Tattva is to change the self. If one understands the essence of Nav Tattva, he will understand the
mystery behind the ups and the downs of his life. Once he understands Nav Tattva properly, he will be able to
do proper Sädhanä.

Before we begin the Sädhanä
of Nav Tattva, let’s understand the Nav Tattva conventionally. One can do
proper Sädhanä of Nav Tattva if he has proper knowledge of
those Tattvas. It is said in a Jain Ägam (canonical book), “padhamam nänam tao dayä” - first
knowledge then compassion - first knowledge then conduct - first knowledge then
practice of Ahimsä (non-violence).
One can have true reflections (Bhävanä
- it is difficult to find a good meaning of Bhävanä
in English, may be understood as the reflections of the inner aspects) for
practicing Ahimsä and for displaying compassion
to all living beings, only if he has the right knowledge. If one does not have
the knowledge of Nav Tattva, how will
he be able to exercise self-restraint?Conventionally it can be said that one has Samyag-Darshan (right
perception) if he has the faith in and knowledge of Nav Tattva.

Because of the good understanding of Nav Tattva; sometimes one’s life gets to
a higher spiritual level and, because of the ignorance of Nav Tattva; sometimes it gets to a lowerlevel. Mystery of happiness-unhappiness,
good-bad, fame-disgrace and similar contradictions (dualities) is resolved in Nav Tattva. Anything that happens in our life can be
explained through Nav Tattva. Per
Jain philosophy, one knows many things if he knows Nav Tattva, and one does not know anything if he does not know Nav Tattva.Nav Tattva begins with Jiva
(living beings) and ends with Moksha
(liberation). Nav Tattvas are: 1) Jiva (living beings), 2) Ajiva (non-living matter), 3) Punya (wholesome Karmas), 4) Päp (unwholesome Karma), 5) Äsrav (influx of Karmas), 6) Samvar (stoppage of influx of Karmas),
7) Nirjarä (eradication of Karmas),
8) Bandh (bondage of Karmas) and 9) Moksha (liberation). We were born as
human being innumerable times. All philosophers agree that there is no better
destiny (gati) than that of the human
being in this Sansär. Sansär means material world where Jiva is subjected to birth and death.
One can attain the right knowledge of Nav
Tattva only in his life as a human being, not in any other living forms
(hellish beings, tiryancha and
heavenly beings). One can liberate himself (attain Moksha) only as a human being, not in any other living form.

Nav Tattvas are very simple and it is easy to remember their
names. If you can remember one name, you will be able to identify other names
automatically. If you know the first one - Jiva (living beings), then the second
one is its antonym - Ajiva
(non-living matter).If you remember the third one - Punya (wholesome Karmas), then its
opposite is the fourth one - Päp
(unwholesome Karma). If you recall the fifth one - Äsrav (influx of Karmas) then the next one is its antithesis - Samvar (stoppage of influx of
Karmas).If you recall the seventh one -
Nirjarä (eradication of Karmas) then
the eight one is its contradiction - Bandh
(bondage of Karmas) and when one remembers Bandh
(bondage of Karmas) then its nullification is everyone’s objective and that is Moksha (liberation).

Nav Tattvas can be divided in three groups: Heya,
Jneya and Upädeya. Heya means worth
abandoning - PÄP, Äsrav
andBandha are Heya. Jneya means worth knowing - all nine fundamentals: Jiva, Ajiva, Punya, PÄP,Äsrav, Samvar, Nirjarä, Bandh and Moksha
are Jneya. Upädeya means worth attaining - Punya,
Samvar, Nirjarä and Moksha are Upädeya. (Punya is eventually worth abandoning). One who does not know what Jivais, he
does not know what Ajiva is. The
individual who does not know Jiva and
Ajiva, how will he be able to
practice self-restraint (Sanyam)?

We have earlier discussed
about certain aspects of Jiva, Ajiva, Punya, Päp etc. It. would, however be
helpful to say about them at some length even at the cost of some
repetition.